Balancing Efficiency, Equity and Voice: The Impact of Unions and High Involvement Work Practices on Work Outcomes
Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 67, No. 4, 2014
University of Alberta School of Business Research Paper 2566410
Posted: 24 Feb 2015
Date Written: February 17, 2015
Abstract
Theory and research surrounding employee voice in organizations have often treated high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) as substitutes for unions. Drawing on recent theoretical developments in the field of industrial relations, specifically the collective voice/institutional response model of union impact and research on HIWPs in organizations, the authors propose that these institutions are better seen as complements whereby greater balance is achieved between efficiency, equity, and voice when HIWPs are implemented in the presence of unions. Based on a national sample of Canadian organizations, they find employees covered by a union experience fewer intensification pressures under higher levels of diffusion of HIWPs such that they work less unpaid overtime, have fewer grievances, and take fewer paid sick days. Job satisfaction is maximized under the combination of unions and HIWPs.
Keywords: unions, voice, dual channel voice, collective voice/institutional response, high-involvement work practices, work attitudes and behaviors
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